Week 7 Fantasy Reactions
Thursday night got off to a HOT start! 2 minutes into TNF and Andy Dalton chucks a 50+ yard pass to Rashid Shaheed for a touchdown. The best part about that is Andy Dalton then threw 2 pick-6’s in the end of the second quarter. Laughable. Marcus Mariota is still throwing less than 15 passes. And that was in a game with a negative game script the whole time. What is Arthur Smith doing? Let me know if you find out. Cowboys basically embarrassed the Lions, but they were without Swift and St. Brown. The Titans and Colts had the most imageable AFC south mathup you could predict. 19-10. Disgusting.
Commanders snagged the W, and Aaron Rodgers is now starting to blame everyone else. C’mon man. You’re a back-to-back MVP. Figure it out. Demand them to trade for one of these WRs on the block! The Panthers destroyed the Buccaneers. It’s not every day a former XFL quarterback beats a 7-time Super Bowl winning quarterback… The Giants are moving to 6-1 after the shocking win as an underdog. How were they underdogs at 5-1??? The Ravens were super close to blowing the game, but the Browns got browned. Get it? The Broncos and Jets game was also very boring. That final score was 16-9. Wow.
Josh Jacobs is on an absolute tear right now. He helped push the Raiders past the Texans 38-20. The Seahawks, who are in 1st place in the NFC West, took down the Chargers. This was super unexpected. Especially, with Keenan Allen back in the lineup. What is going on in Seattle? Despite the McCaffrey trade, the Chiefs were able to take down the 49ers 44-23. I will say, McCaffrey, looked good in the few days he had to prepare. That could be scary!
Saints vs Cardinals
Finally! A solid Thursday night game! This score was 42-34 with the Cardinals getting the W so that Kyler could go play the new Call of Duty for the next week and a half. If I were you, I would look into Vikings -3.5 for week 8. DeAndre Hopkins, boy did we miss you. Hopkins came back after his suspension and put up a 10-catch, 100-yard game. He didn’t find pay dirt this week, but in time, he will. Still had 20 points this week. A huge night from Eno Benjamin in James Conner’s absence. Eno scored 23 points. Hell, even Keaontay Ingram got involved. The rookie out of USC got his first TD. You love to see it. The Saints had a weird night. In any game where Andy Dalton is throwing for 350+ yards and 4 TDs, you would think they dominated. Technically, Andy Dalton threw 6 touchdowns. The problem was that 2 of those were interceptions where the defense scored. So he threw a touchdown to the wrong team. Can’t be doing that. For fantasy purposes, Chris Olave is continuing to do his thing, but man he needs to take fewer hits. He looked like a punching bag out there. Kamara had a solid PPR night. He needs to find the end zone soon. Juwan Johnson came out of nowhere and scored 2 touchdowns? I highly doubt many had him playing. Oh well. On to next week. I just want Jameis back.
What Would You Do (WWYD): DeAndre Hopkins – He’s an auto start for the rest of the season if you ask me. He’s always been a stud, you start studs in fantasy football. In dynasty, maybe after a few weeks if he is popping off, sell him to a contender if you aren’t ready to win.
Bengals vs Falcons
The Falcons were undefeated going into this game! Not in the NFL, but against the spread they lost! Until this week. The Bengals dropped the hammer on the Falcons. The craziest thing to me was the Falcons were losing the entire game, and Marcus Mariota only had 13 passing attempts. They don’t have Derrick Henry running the ball?! Why aren’t they passing the ball? Mind-boggling strategy. I said last week in the Bengals recap that I’m buying Ja’Marr Chase’s production, and what do you know? This week he has 8 catches for 130 yards and 2 TDs! Ja’Marr Chase has now had 2 straight weeks of 30+ fantasy points. Not only Chase, but Tyler Boyd was also heavily involved. He had 29 fantasy points thanks to a deep touchdown early in the game. Joe Mixon is consistently scoring 14-18 points now. About all you can ask for. Joe Burrow had a hell of a day. 481 yards and 3 touchdowns. Mariota had 25% of that. Mariota threw for 124 yards and 1 touchdown which went to Damiere Byrd on a 75 yard score. Literally, 60% of Mariota’s passing yards were on one play. ONE. I’m sorry, but if Drake London and Kyle Pitts are only seeing 1 catch a game, either your QB is garbage or your coach is garbage. Maybe both, I don’t know? But this game was a weird one for the Falcons. Bengals are firing on all cylinders.
WWYD: Tyler Boyd – At this point, Tyler Boyd is Tyler Lockett 2.0. You know some weeks he’s going to put up a ton of points. On the other hand, he will have those weeks where he gives you something like 5 points. Start him at your own risk, but I’d hate to see you sit him when he scores 20+ like this week.
Lions vs Cowboys
You know when Kalif Raymond is the leading fantasy scorer and Brock Wright is the second most, that the Lions had a bad day. D’Andre Swift was ruled out, Amon-R St. Brown was active, but he got banged up again and TJ Hockenson is just bad. I mean how in the world can you not get production from the only talented guy left on the field. There’s not much to analyze here for the Lions. They had a horrible game, without their top 2 players. For Dallas, Dak Prescott made his return to the field. He had 200 yards and a TD pass to the back up tight end, Peyton Hendershot. Not a horrible day, not a great one. But they really didn’t need Dak to show up in an elite way because they won that game quite easily. Lamb caught 4 balls for 70 yards, we need to get him in the end zone again. Zeke took all of the touchdowns. His 57 yards and 2 TDs were good for almost 18 points. The leading scorer for the Cowboys. Zeke hawked those TDs from Tony Pollard. Pollard had 83 rush yards and a touchdown would have given him nearly a 20-point week. Oh well, Dallas moves to 5-2 as they continue to push for 1st in what is now an incredibly competitive NFC East. I can’t believe those words were just typed. Gross.
WWYD: Zeke – Sell. Definitely sell. If you can sell Zeke after the 2 touchdown week, do it. It won’t happen much, if at all, again. Pollard is the future of this backfield.
Colts vs Titans
Sort of another bland recap here. 19-10 was the final score. I love that the Titans got the win and Tannehill had 132 passing yards with no touchdowns. You know what that means! Derrick Henry feasted. 30 carries for 128 yards. Probably the sole reason why the Titans won this game. He had 16.8 fantasy points with no touchdowns. God loves Henry. Not one WR had a good game for the Titans. They really need Treylon Burks back. The Colts didn’t get the win but had an okay day offensively. Matty Ice threw for 243 yards and a score. Parris Campbell was the recipient of this weeks touchdown. Campbell has two solid weeks in a row now of 18+ points. I wonder if that will continue now that gunslinger Sam Ehlinger is going to be starting at QB for the Colts. We’ll see. If you ask me, now is a great time to buy Jonathan Taylor. I think the Colts are going to feed him going forward. Michael Pittman Jr had 6 catches for 58 yards, so not the best day, but the targets are still there and that is what matters for fantasy. 15 points from Jonathan Taylor in his first game back from the ankle injury ain’t too shabby. Should see much better production as the weeks progress. Titans take sole possession of the AFC South.
WWYD: Michael Pittman Jr – With the report that Sam Ehlinger is taking over as the starting QB, I think I’m holding on to Pittman. No one will want to pay the price you deserve right now but usually back up QBs hyper-target their best receivers. So fingers crossed that’s what Ehlinger does.
Commanders vs Packers
Green Bay has got to figure something out, man. This offense is lacking the spark it once had (I know, Davante Adams was a dumb trade). However, you need a stud at WR to really get the ball moving. Whether you have 2 solid RBs or not. In my opinion, the Packers need to send offers for D.J. Moore, Chase Claypool, or Brandin Cooks (all players I’ve read are rumored to be on the trading block). They need their “guy”. I like Allen Lazard as much as the next guy, but he’s like Darnell Mooney. A natural WR2 stuck acting like a WR1. There’s not too much to analyze about the Packers’ side of the ball. Rodgers threw for just shy of 200 yards and had 2 TD passes somehow. Oh wait, that’s because their best playmaker caught them both. Aaron Jones had a big day. While he only had 23 rush yards, he caught 9 passes for 53 yards and 2 touchdowns (28.6 points). That’s about all you can ask for out of your stud player is to find the end zone. Let alone, twice. The Commanders were led by Colonel Heinicke and his 200 passing yards and 2 touchdowns. Brian Robinson carried the ball 20 times for 73 yards. No score, so his day ends up looking bad when you see he averaged 3.7 yards per carry. I would love to see Washington give Antonio Gibson the same workload as that. I promise you, he will be more productive. He had half the carries with better production per carry. He also scored a touchdown. It’s just mind-boggling to me. I do not understand why those coaches don’t like Gibson. There are so many metrics supporting him as a good running back. I DIGRESS. This article isn’t about Gibson. McLaurin was the high scorer with 18 points. Gibson came in second at 16.7 and Curtis Samuel and Brian Robinson were all in double digits.
WWYD: Aaron Rodgers – At this point, he is a fantasy liability. He isn’t producing fantasy points, let alone producing in real life. If you can finagle a trade right now to get a different QB, I would do it.
Dolphins vs Steelers
Well, I am super glad my Dolphins won because I hosted a watch party with a bunch of my friends and some of them are Steelers fans. So getting this win was fun. The Dolphins started off hot. They were up 10-0 at the 5-minute mark in the 1st quarter. I know my Steelers buddies were puckered up. They, and I, thought it was going to get ugly. I had this feeling though, and I said it to my buddy, that it was definitely not over. And what do you know, it was 13-10 right before the half. Miami did go down and knock a field goal in before half, but the way this game started, it didn’t feel like it would get back to 13-10. Miami got the lead to 16-10 and no one scored again. Pain. The second half stunk. Punt after punt. For fantasy purposes, George Pickens led the Steelers with 18 points. Freiermuth had another solid game with 15.5 points. Najee’s ceiling is around 11 points nowadays. Which is what he scored. Lastly, Diontae failed to score 10 points. Not a great fantasy week from the Steelers guys but Pickens continues to ball out. Miami had some solid scores. I should say a single solid scorer. Raheem Mostert continues to be a steal as he is now a low-end RB2 on the year. Mostert is averaging 14 points a game the past 4 weeks. Get that man on your team (but also add Chase Edmonds just in case…) Tyreek scored 14 just off 7 catches and 72 yards. Jaylen scored 12.8 off of 4 catches for 88. He was wide open early in the game, I want to know why he faded in the second half… Either way, I’m happy the Dolphins left week 7 with a win. Plus, I get to mess with my buddies now that we won.
Buccaneers vs Panthers
Luckily, this recap is going to be short and sweet because this game is the definition of the NFL this season. Really? Are the Bucs getting beat by the Panthers WITH NO MCCAFFREY?! What is going on? Plus, the Bucs didn’t even score a touchdown! It was 21-3… I was watching redzone and I don’t think I ever saw the Bucs on offense. I saw them on defense…but no offense. Which sucks, because Fournette and Godwin I needed good days from. I’m honestly shocked Tom Brady had 290 passing yards. Fournette had 19 rushing yards, Rachaad White had 24 and Mike Evans plus Cade Otton were the only 2 receivers to had a good day. Evans caught 9 passes for 96 yards (18.6 points) and Otton caught 4 for 64 (10.4). If they scored a TD, they have great days. Bummer. Carolina had a good day from DJ Moore, D’Onta Foreman, and Chubba Hubbard. DJ Moore finally caught a touchdown! D’Onta Foreman took over after Hubbard hurt his ankle and Foreman finished with 118 rushing yards. Just lost out on the TD to Hubbard. I can’t believe the Panthers won this game, but here we are.
WWYD: Fournette – Just hold on Fournette. I don’t think the Bucs offense is going to continue looking this bad, but it may not be the elite one it was two years ago. Fournette will be back to 15+ points a week anytime now.
Giants vs Jaguars
Well, would you look at that? The New York Football Giants are 6-1. Is Eli Manning back? So strange to see them have a competent team. Daniel Jones is doing his thing! 300 total yards, 200 passing, and 100 rushing with a touchdown in each. Can’t ask for much more than that! HE had 28, almost 29, fantasy points. Saquon did have a quieter week in terms of fantasy, but he reached 110 rush yards. So in reality, that’s a solid game. Darius Slayton came out of nowhere and caught 3 for 58 and a score. I believe he almost had a second touchdown later in the game. Could be wrong. WanDale Robinson continues to improve and is clearly a part of the offense. He scored 11 points on 6 catches for 50 yards. No TD, but that would have been a great day with one. The Jaguars stink again. However, Travis Etienne seems to be breaking out of his shell a lil bit. I was sort of fading him this year, but he seems to have the package. 114 rush yards and a score for Etienne. Good for 18 fantasy points. Christian Kirk gave his fantasy managers a sigh of relief, scoring 17 this week. And Zay Jones and Evan Engram scored just over 10 each, which I’m sure people out there had them in their lineups this week with all of the injuries and byes. The Jaguars seem like a team that could ramp it back up as the season progresses. Go check the price of Kirk and Etienne. Their managers may have doubts about them right now. But they are solid investments going forward.
WWYD: Trevor Lawrence – Buy low on him in redraft. If the Jaguars do turn it back up as the season progresses, he is going to be a solid fantasy asset.
Browns vs Ravens
I honestly felt like the Browns could have pulled this off. Of course, they screwed themselves at the end of the game. Actually, I thought I saw that they might’ve gotten ripped off? I dunno. Hard to believe what Browns fans say about their games. Nick Chubb had a solid day yet again. 91 rush yards and a touchdown to go with it. Solid 18 points from Chubby. Had Brissett found the end zone, he would have had a good day. But he only had 258 passing yards, no scores liek I mentioned. Amari, Njoku and DPJ each had just over 70 yards. None found the end zone, however. Only Chubb, Hunt and Gus Edwards. Speaking of Gus Bus, how about his day?? All of a sudden activated off IR, starts the game and rushes 16 times for 66 yards and 2 TDs. Can’t be mad about that as a Ravens’ fan. 18.6 points from Gus Bus. He was a great pick-up for me this past Saturday. Lamar only finished with 10 points and Mark Andrews had 0.4 points. 4 RUSHING YARDS. That is all Andrews had. 4. Rushing. Yards. What the actually hell is up with football this year… Justin Tucker was the 2nd highest fantasy scorer for the Ravens. That’s the kind of fantasy week it was. Unreal.
WWYD: Gus Edwards – Sell high if you can. The Ravens RB is usually productive, but the ceiling is limited when Lamar is in the backfield. I mean, shit, Lamar LEGIT lined up as a RB in the game. That should tell you everything it needs to.
Jets vs Broncos
This is another short and sweet recap. I feel like this is too many now. It hurts me. PAINS ME. Do you know why? Because my Elijah Moore shares are tanking, Breece Hall is now out for the season after a HOT start and the Jets moved further ahead of the Dolphins in the AFC East. I am angry. This game was 16-9, Jets. Who are now 5-2. Zach Wilson had 121 yards passing and no scores. Breece Hall had 4 for 72 and a score with no catches. Michael Carter was the leading receiver and the Jets win another lucky matchup. The Russell Wilson-less Broncos. Boy, aren’t the Broncos a treat? At least they weren’t in a primetime slot this week. Jerry Jeudy reach 16 points on 7 catches for 96 yards. Greg Dulcich scored 11 on 6 catches for 51 yards. Latavius Murray stole a TD from Melvin Gordon, but it didn’t matter because no one scored well outside Jeudy and Dulcich. Just an ugly game, with a horrible result when the Jets lose Breece Hall for the season. That kid was looking so special out there! I hope he recovers fully. We need guys like him in the league. Fantasy cheat codes!
Update:
Sources: The #Jets are making a big trade, acquiring #Jaguars RB James Robinson to help replaced injured RB Breece Hall. Draft pick compensation is going back to the Jags.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 24, 2022
Raiders vs Texans
Raiders off the bye look refreshed! I wouldn’t be surprised if they make a push in their division as the season progresses. Josh Jacobs is running like a madman. He logged 143 yards and 3 TDs. Hell of a day. I love breakout Josh Jacobs. Derek Carr did what he needed to do. Get the ball to the best WR or hand it off. Davante Adams was basically the only WR to have good production. He caught 8 passes for 95 yards. I take it back. Mack Hollins was in plenty of lineups due to byes and injuries. He caught Carr’s only passing touchdown. 12 point day for Hollins. Josh Jacobs has scored 30 or more points in 3 straight games. On. A. Tear. The Texans didn’t have a bad day, but it just wasn;t enough to get the win. Davis Mills threw for 300 yards and 2 TDs. Dameon Pierce ran the ball 20 times for 92 yards and caught 4 for 25. Solid day for the rook. Not really any noteworthy WRs for the Texans. Jordan Akins led them in receiving, but I would be shocked if anyone but his brother played him in fantasy. Raiders move to 2-4. I’d love to see them make a push in that division.
WWYD: Darren Waller – At this rate, I’m not sure you can do anything with him. You can cut him, but then someone else will reap the benefits when he comes back. I would just hold on to him.
Chargers vs Seahawks
I can’t believe I’m writing this, but the Seattle Seahawks are in 1st place in the NFC West. Yes. You read that correctly. Sole possession of the division. What a world! Geno Smith looks dynamite! He has been a top 10 QB all season. Now we are witnessing the Kenneth Walker takeover. What an exciting season in Seattle. Who woulda thunk? KW3 had 28 fantasy points. That’s good for RB3 on the week. That’s awesome. And to think people said Penny was the superior running back? DK Metcalf got hurt, hate to see it,. He was having a big season. Marquise Goodwin randomly had a 22-point week. Can’t wait for him to have a dud next week. Lockett had 11 points, so it was a quieter week for him. Chargers had a few high scorers. Austin Ekeler had 36. He is the RB1 on the week. Mike Williams, before the injury, put up a 21-point week. I hope he recovers soon. He’s too good to miss time. The league needs big Mike. Herbert had 18, but I miss the 25-point weeks from Herbert. Keenan Allen is clearly still rehabbing the hammy. He has a bye next, so the time off will do him wonders. Go add Josh Palmer or DeAndre Carter where you can. As I mentioned, the Seahawks are now first in the NFC West after the big win, 37-23. Go birds. Chargers have a lot to figure out.
WWYD: Keenan Allen – Buy low on Keenan. If you can afford to go trade for him and wait a week after the bye, do it. He’s going to have 2 extra weeks of rest and the Chargers will come out swinging after the bye. His value will only go up.
Chiefs vs 49ers
All I’m saying is if McCaffrey looked halfway decent in a completely new system in 3 days. The dude got traded on Thursday night and played on Sunday. That’s insane. Started at running back. McCaffrey is an animal. That’s not easy. It wasn’t a great game, but with 8 rushes for 38 yards and 2 catches for 24 yards. He’s going to be a nice addition in San Fran. Jimmy G had a good day. 300 passing yards and 2 touchdowns. One to his right hand man, George Kittle. Who had 6 catches for 98 yards and a touchdown finally. 20+ points from Kittle this week. The other TD went to Ray-Ray McCloud who caught 4 passes for 65 yards and that touchdown. Deebo Samuel had a quieter day. Only 9 points from him. Aiyuk is still producing points despite not having the best day. 7 catches for 82 yards is nothing to scoff at, but a touchdown would have taken it to the next level for his fantasy week. All of the action came from the Chiefs. Mahomes had 423 passing yards and 3 TDs. 27 point week. Pacheco did lead in touches after being named the “starter,” but CEH was the one who found the end zone. I swear, coaches mess with fantasy players. Oddly enough, Mecole Hardman had 2 rushing TDs. Very strange. But I know there were people playing him due to the byes and injuries in week 7. JuJu had a huge night. 7 catches for 124 yards and a score. 25 points for the young buck. MVS also had over 100 yards with 111 on 3 catches. Kelce had a quiet day, scoring nearly 17 points without a touchdown. Can’t be mad about that. Seems to me that Chiefs have found their stride.
WWYD: JuJu – Sell him high if you can. I’d try for a Tee Higgins or DeVonta Smith sell high if possible.
Bears vs Patriots
It makes me happy that the Patriots are under .500 so far. I enjoy watching them lose. What can I say? I dealt with their dynasty for the better part of my life (I’m 26). Thanks to Justin Fields and the Bears (never thought I’d be saying that), the Patriots took a big loss. Mac Jones got benched for Bailey Zappe. I wonder if that will be the decision going forward. Zappe threw for 185 and a TD. Jakobi Meyers was the recipient of that solo touchdown. Meyers had 2 catches for 34 yards with that TD. Just barely fantasy relevant from that. Rhamondre sort of came back to earth, he had 39 yards and a score, but he caught 8 passes for 59 yards. I love to see him getting the passing work. The rest of the WRs for the Patriots took the night off, apparently. Which sounds like the Bears WRs! Mooney and St. Brown each had 8 points. Not great. Khalil Herbert caught a TD pass, and David Montgomery ran one in, but they didn’t see a lot of production outside of that. Both had 62 yards rushing. Love to see the Bears get the win, but they won’t be facing a backup QB very often.
WWYD: Mac Jones – In dynasty, I’m probably holding, because you don’t know if Zappe is the long-term play right now. In redraft, you may have to find another QB option if he was your guy. Sam Ehlinger (IND) would be a good pick up.
